The House of Yeap Chor Ee was the first home of Yeap Chor Ee, a young immigrant who came to Penang in 1885 and worked as a barber before becoming a captain of industry at the turn of the 20th century.

The building was turned into a Social History Gallery in 2008. Through the journey of Yeap Chor Ee, the gallery gives an insight into his remarkable life and the lives of immigrants who arrived on the island from China, more than 100 years ago.

'The idea is to make the story of one man relevant to a wider audience'

The Permanent Exhibition at the House of Yeap Chor Ee

Described by visitors as one of the best recorded social history galleries in town, the Permanent Exhibition gives an insight into the lives of Chinese immigrants more than 100 years ago through the life of Yeap Chor Ee.

Among the highlights of the Exhibition are the original furniture and artefacts from one of Penang’s most prominent mansions, Homestead; a creative Chinese Immigrant Infographic panel, which gives a concise and detailed account of migrant arrivals in the 1880s; an informative timeline chronicling the rags to riches story of Yeap Chor Ee - from a barber to a banker; and a complete genealogy of the Yeap family, dating back to over 2,500 years.

Visitors will also be able to find rare materials, such as oral history interviews of how banking business was conducted in the early days; or what a 1920s passport of a Chinese national looked like. Many of Yeap Chor Ee’s private and company documents have been digitised and are made available on iPads in the Exhibition.